Giffords has been recovering from a bullet wound to the head
since Jan. 8, when she was shot at a constituent meeting in
Tucson, Ariz. Kelly originally planned to drop out of the shuttle
flight to stay by his wife's side, but because she is recovering
so quickly, he announced Friday (Feb. 4) that he is rejoining the
shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 mission as its commander.

"I started to think about STS-134, about the mission, my crew,
the fact that I've been training for it for nearly a
year-and-a-half, thinking about what Gabby would want me to do,"
Kelly said during a Friday press conference. "I ultimately made
the decision that I would like to return and command STS-134."

Kelly trained with the crew last week on a trial basis, to prove
to himself and NASA that he would be able to focus on his work
during the mission. Today he resumed a regular, full training
schedule at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Kelly and his five crewmates are slated to launch aboard
Endeavour April 19 on a two-week mission to the International
Space Station. It is the final flight for Endeavour as NASA
prepares to retire its three-shuttle fleet this year.

Endeavour's STS-134 crew will deliver new supplies and a $1.5
billion astrophysics experiment – called the Alpha Magnetic
Spectrometer – aimed at detecting signs of antimatter and other
exotic particles that could reveal clues about the nature of the
universe.

Today the astronauts will undergo a mission simulation in the
Motion-based Shuttle Simulator machine, which reproduces
sensations felt during launch, ascent, entry and landing.

The few months ahead leading up to the mission are usually busy
with practice runs like this, and Kelly will likely have to work
long hours.

"From now forward, the training schedule for me is what it would
have been anyway, it's not going to be any different," he said.

Yet Giffords' days are also packed full of rehabilitation
exercises with doctors at her Houston hospital, the astronaut
said.

While Kelly took a break from training to be with his wife, NASA
appointed a backup commander, veteran shuttle flyer Rick
Sturckow, to train with Endeavour's crew. Sturckow has now
resumed his normal duties as deputy chief of Johnson Space
Center's astronaut office.

Kelly's twin brother, Scott Kelly, is also an astronaut. Right
now he is living on the International Space Station as commander
of the Expedition 26 mission. Scott Kelly is due to land back on
Earth March 19 on a Russian Soyuz capsule.

Endeavour's STS-134 mission is one of NASA's three final space
shuttle flights. Before Endeavour flies, NASA plans to launch the
shuttle Discovery toward the International Space Station to
deliver a humanoid robot and a spare room to serve as a storage
closet.

Discovery is slated to launch on Feb. 24.

NASA's last mission, which has still not received its final
funding from Congress, is slated to launch June 28. That mission,
to fly on the shuttle Atlantis, will deliver large spare parts
and supplies to the space station.

NASA has been launching space shuttles into Earth orbit since
April 12, 1981. Endeavour's flight will be the 134th shuttle
mission since the fleet entered spaceflight service.